After two years of unprecedented circumstances, the 2021 Raiders Rumble event was held once again at Melrose and turned out to be a huge success! Elementary students competed with their amazing LEGO robots, presented their Innovation projects, and even had a dance party! Each year, the FIRST LEGO League announces a new theme with unique missions for each team’s robot to complete. In addition to the robot, the students must complete a research project, called the Innovation project, in accordance with the year’s theme. This year’s theme was “Cargo Connect”, where the teams explored the modern cargo transportation and distribution system, and created a solution to a problem it created.
We interviewed some teams during the event and asked for their thoughts on the day. First we spoke with the Broritos, whose favorite part of the day was competing with their robot. One team member really liked taking charge of controlling the robot, aligning it to go in the right direction and pressing its go button. The team said they felt “pretty good” when they got points, however they became nervous and stressed when their entire robot shut down during the first round of battles. But they overcame this challenge and persevered through the following rounds.
Another team we spoke to was Team Clucks-a-Lot, one of the teams representing Melrose. They said their favorite part of the Raiders’ Rumble was being able to compete, as well as watching others compete. In addition, they loved the dance party held after lunch. When competing, Team Clucks-a-Lot could feel the adrenaline rush, but also found it fun and exciting. However, seeing as it was such a big and important event, the team admitted it was stressful to compete.
The third team we interviewed was Robot Rampage, a team that promotes girls in S.T.E.M. The girls said their favorite part of the day was running their robot as well as presenting their Innovation project to the judges. When competing, they said they felt proud of themselves after running their robot, saying they did “not too bad”.
All of the teams expressed that the atmosphere of the competition was very fun and exciting. Everyone liked meeting and becoming friends with new people and giving them fist and elbow bumps. All of the kids complimented each others’ teams as very nice, and everyone liked seeing the variety of t-shirt designs.
Finally, we asked the teams we interviewed what they want to be when they grow up. We got some S.T.E.M.-related responses such as a doctor, engineer, architect, and a coder. However, we did get non-S.T.E.M.-related responses such as a singer, actress, LEGO designer, gymnast, and an artist. We love seeing so much enthusiasm and creativity for future dreams. One of the fruitful aspects of robotics is the opportunity to try new things and share ideas. Kids participating in such activities are modeled to think big and innovative. It is inspiring to see such young children already shooting for the stars.
At the end of the competition day, all of the winners were announced at the awards ceremony. Each team that won got a trophy and a roaring round of applause from the whole auditorium. Also announced were the five State Qualifiers, who all move on to the next round of competitions the weekend of 12/18/2021. The results of the Raiders Rumble competition are below:
Teams that are located in Melrose have an asterisk (*) following their name.
Robot Design
1st Place: Gear Gourds (34313)
2nd Place: K9 Robotics (30572)
3rd Place: Area 51 Cargo (51253)
Robot Performance
1st Place: Lazer Robotics (37960)
Innovation Project
1st Place: MinuteBots (52684)
2nd Place: Wolf Bots (52177)
3rd Place: Clipper BOTS (53621)
Core Values
1st Place: Time Bots (33512)
2nd Place: Team Clucks-a-Lot (52902) *
3rd Place: Big Hero 7 (52927) *
Robot Tournament (1st place is a two-team alliance)
1st Place: Lazar Robotics (37960) & Ravens (53302) *
Coach/Mentor Award
Christine Byler: Steam Team (52881) * & Lego Lions (53280) *
State Qualifiers
MinuteBots (52684)
Team Clucks-a-Lot (52902) *
Gear Gourds (34313)
Wolf Bots (52177)
Time Bots (33512)
Champion’s Award (the winners of the whole event)
1st Place: Lazer Robotics (37960)
2nd Place: Robot Rampage (52483)
